Monticello Live

The 24th-ranked University of Arkansas at Monticello baseball team had its record-breaking season halted on Monday with a 7-4 loss to Central Missouri in the finals of the NCAA Division II Central Region Tournament at Joe Faber Field.

The Weevils (40-16) end the year with new school records in wins, at bats (1,907), hits (578), doubles (116), home runs (56), runs scored (423), runs batted in (382) and walks (259). Individually, senior right fielder Corey Wood broke UAM single-season records in runs scored (67), home runs (26), RBI (90), total bases (183) and slugging percentage (.847).

Senior shortstop Evan Comeau aided UAM’s new record for walks in a season with an individual final total of 54, smashing the previous record of 36, previously held by Chad Drummond in the 1998 season. Comeau is also UAM’s career leader in walks

Additionally, sixth-year head coach John Harvey ends the season tied for the all-time coaching record at UAM with 160 wins. He has a career record of 314-273 and a 160-125 mark at UAM.

Wood was named the Central Region Tournament Most Valuable Player to go along with his Great American Conference Tournament MVP honors and GAC Player of the Year title. Joining him on the regional all-tournament team was senior catcher Travis Steinke, senior left fielder Kevin Fitzpatrick and Comeau. Wood had a .500 batting average in the regional with 15 hits, five doubles, four home runs, 11 RBI, 32 total bases and a 1.067 slugging percentage.

In Monday’s loss to UCM, the Mules (42-13) jumped out a 3-1 lead with single runs in each of the first three innings. UAM plated one in the bottom of the first on a bases-loaded walk by Steinke. The Weevils tied the game in the third on a solo home run from Wood and an RBI single from junior designated hitter Guy Halbert.

In the fourth, UAM took its first and only lead of the game on an RBI single by senior first baseman Mitchell Dornblut to put his team up 4-3.

The Mules kept UAM scoreless throughout the remainder of the game, while rallying for three runs in the top of the fifth and one more in the sixth.

For the 30th time this season in 56 games, UAM had at least 10 hits with a final total of 12. Fitzpatrick was 3-for-5. Wood, Dornblut and Halbert all had two hits in the loss.

The Weevils became the first team in school history to reach the 40-win mark, the first to win a conference championship title since 1993 and just the second team in earn an NCAA tournament berth, following up from two seasons ago when Coach Harvey led the Weevils to a then-school record 36 wins.

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